Hope City Accra - The story so far...
Hope City Church is preparing to send Andy and Karen Gorman, who previously led our Liverpool Congregation, with a team of devoted people to plant our Hope City Accra congregation in Ghana, conjunction with our 2012 Vision to see 8 congregations in the UK, 1 in Europe and 1 in Africa.
In March this year we are now launching our first ever international congregation of Hope City Church! Andy & Karen Gorman, who pastored Hope City Liverpool congregation for nearly 7 years will be taking a team of 11 awesome people out to Ghana’s capital city, Accra, where the new congregation will be based. As part of Hope City’s 2012 vision, we hope to see a thriving congregation spring into life in Accra and see many, many people touched by the amazing message of our church. In the near future we will be sending out regular mission teams to help support the local team and the many other practical projects being planned and you may be interested in being part of one of those teams. Such trips will include short term missions lasting around 10 days, but also some of you may want to help out for a bit longer... 1 month, 3 months or even make it your gap year adventure!
One thing is clear though, the Bible says it is right that we should look after the poor. It also says that ‘IF’ we give to the poor ‘THEN’ we shall lack nothing. (Prov 28:27) The vision of our church compels us to go even to the ends of the earth, a world impacting church and we are all partners in that vision together. God’s promise to us therefore is that as we fulfil this mandate, He will continually provide for our every need, making sure we are completely equipped for every endeavour. This is our most significant year yet, one church in 6 cities... the North of England and now beyond.
Members of Hope City Church currently individually sponsor 150 children in Ghana, West Africa in the area of Agona Kwanyako and Mankrong – and our vision is to sponsor 600 children by 2012 in villages that we will one day provide health care and education in!
Here is the journey so far...
The Initial Assignment
In November 2008 Pastor Andy Gorman took our Hope City Ghana project team off to spy out the land for the first time, in what was certainly a history making moment. In partnership with Compassion International, the team ventured approximately 90km NW out of Ghana’s capital city of Accra into the villages and settlements there, to meet with local pastors, churches, schools, the medical outposts and of course, the children that we at Hope City Church sponsor and care for through Compassion UK! Andy and his team took gifts and messages of love and hope to those children. It was incredible.
The First Mission
19th – 29th August 2009
Ghana Mission Highlights video - See RELATED LINKS (left)
At the end of August this year, the first wave of Hope City Ghana missions teams headed out to Ghana for an explosive to start to many years of ministry. The aim of this first mission was to run a huge holiday club for the sponsored children in the Compassion Project at Agona Kwanyako Village and to attempt to build in 4 days a timber framed adventure playground!
17 people left the UK excited and determined to be used by God to bring His love and care to these children, knowing that the Bible teaches we should not ignore the poor, but try to help them with the gifts and resources God has put in our hands. However, the team never could have imagined how much of an impact they would eventually make... It really took the words right out of their mouths.
Building The Playground
The building team, led expertly and efficiently by Chief Engineer Richard (Tricky) Chambers faced a number of challenges along the way. One difficulty being that the timber supplied was not the expected softwood, but rather the extremely hard ‘mahogany’! The sheer density of this hardwood meant several ‘on-the-fly’ structural design changes and a frantic search for alternative, stronger bolts! Richard’s team finished the playground with literally minutes to spare before sunset and immediately it was a huge success with the village. No other Compassion project in the whole of Ghana had ever received such a gift and it was quite an emotional handover between the team and local project staff, paving the way for future projects in other villages.
Holiday Club Mayhem
With almost infinite enthusiasm and legendary creativity they ran 3 simultaneous streams of children’s activities for 3 hours a day, for 4 days! Plus they hosted an awesome awards ceremony at the local church Sunday service, giving out prizes and honouring the children before their village. The church service was packed out with proud mums, dads, extended family and care-givers, everyone hearing the news because the team had given out nearly 1,000 flyers the day before promoting the church service!
Meeting Our Sponsor Children
During the trip, each of the team members had the unique opportunity to visit their own sponsored child’s home, meeting family and being able to bring personal gifts. For some, the visits were emotional and filled with the presence of God. Others experienced extreme elation followed by a sense of unusual humility but everyone came back feeling super-connected to the children they sponsored, knowing in huge measures now, the extents of the impact their sponsorship was making.
Bye Bye until Next Time!
At the end of the mission, the whole team bid a fond farewell to Compassion staff and children and then headed off to the coast for two days vacation before returing home to the UK. During this quick detour, they visited the amazing rain forests of the Ghana Interior, taking an adventurous walk through Africa’s only Canopy walkway, one of only 5 in the world! Then it was time to unwind... download thoughts and reflect on what had taken place the previous week. With the gentle sound of the Atlantic sea, a few parrots chirping and the warm Sub-Saharan sunshine the team all thanked God for being used in such an intense but fulfilling way.
Scouting Mission
30th November - 5th December 2009
Senior Pastors Dave and Jenny along with Congregation Pastors Andy and Karen are venturing out in preparation for the team going in the new year. The plan is to locate a suitable venue for Church to start as well as find a suitable school for the children accompanying the team as well as accomodation and job opportunities for the team so they can live and begin to be a part of the community out there.
They are spending a week getting to know this vibrant capital city and allowing God to continue to break their hearts for this brand new city full of people that need to know our incredible God. Be praying for them as the plans get under way.
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